Satire and Science Fiction go hand in hand. So much of
sci-fi is speculating what society would be like in the future or on other
planets. Since humans write all these stories, we can’t help but compare these
fictional societies to our own. Most of the time, the author intends to draw
parallels. When the writes draws these parallels in a humorous tone, we are
blessed with sci-fi satire.
Let’s take a look at what might be the most famous satirical
sci-fi noel, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglass Adams. The
novel simultaneously parodies the sci-fi genre as well as modern society. The
story is about an ordinary Earthling who is able to escape Earth when it is
destroyed. He proceeds to be taken on adventures throughout space until he
discovers that Earth was just a computer designed to figure out the meaning of
life. Then he grabs a bite to eat.
The underlying message of the story is just that humans tend
to make a huge deal out of every little thing that happens to them, when
nothing actually matters. That might be somewhat of a nihilistic viewpoint, but
the text backs it up. The entire planet Earth is destroyed just to make room
for an intergalactic highway. The entire existence of Earth was just a computer
that belonged to some mice. The characters search for the meaning of all life
in the Universe to find the answer is 42. The novel is hilarious, but the humor
is actually pretty dark. The main character discovers his whole life and
everything he thought he knew is a lie, but the novel puts this theme in a
humorous light. I think the author is trying to convey the point that there is
probably no meaning to life, nothing matters, and if we can’t step back and
laugh about it then our lives would be miserable.